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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

I was super excited to try out this pumpkin pizza dough recipe I found on Eats Well With Others. I was curious, does it taste like pumpkin bread? Will it be too sweet?

Turns out, this pumpkin pizza dough has a very subtle pumpkin flavor. It is slightly sweet. I made mine with half wheat and half white flour. I did that because I wanted to make it healthier.

That is a lie. I actually just ran out of AP flour. But, I thought this dough would lend itself well to some wheat flour. And it really did.

I topped mine with brie, sauteed apples and caramelized onions. To cut some of the sweetness, I added some blue cheese, bacon and pecans. This is such a hearty pizza. In fact, I was almost full after one piece! I loved the combination of flavors. And, of course, Scot loved it even more. He loves these fall flavors.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the yeast, 3/4 cup water, and the brown sugar. Let sit for about five minutes or until it starts foaming. While the yeast is proofing, in a small microwave safe bowl, combine butter, salt, and 3/4 cup water. Heat mixture in microwave until the butter is melted. Let it cool until you can stick your finger in it without getting burned. Pour this into the yeast mixture. With paddle attachment, mix everything on low for a few seconds. Add pumpkin puree and mix on low until combined. Add all the white flour. Mix on low until well combined.

Switch to a dough hook and add most of wheat flour. Start on low until well combined and then increase speed. Continue to mix and add flour until dough pulls away from the sides and is mostly stuck to the dough hook.

Cover the bowl of the stand mixer with a damp paper towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about one hour.

Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475.

Cook bacon in a skillet until it is about 80% done. Rinse and dry skillet. Add some olive oil and caramelize onion slices, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from pan and add more olive oil and apple slices. Cook for about 5 minutes until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.

After the dough has risen, cut off half of it. Sprinkle the half with flour and mold it into a ball. Place on a clean surface that's covered in flour and roll out to a desired thickness. Place dough in oven on the pizza stone, and prebake for two minutes.

In a small dish, melt 1 tbsp of butter and mix in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Brush prebaked crust with butter/olive oil mixture and top with slices of brie (leave the rind on), apple slices, caramelized onions, and bacon. Slide onto pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. When the pizza is still hot, right out of the oven, sprinkle with blue cheese and nuts.

I've been wanting to try out Joanne's recipe too! Your pizza only confirms that desire. I'm glad that it worked with the whole wheat flour...I love it when I can make recipes a bit more healthy. Thank you for sharing love....this fall inspired pizza looks just divine!